HARREL LEADS BEARCATS TO WIN IN LAVACA

Noah Harrel had scored 6 points going to the final quarter with the Bearcats trailing by two points Friday night in Lavaca.

Harrel would hit a 3 to give the Bearcats their first lead with 6:17 to play, then hit another to retake the lead with 1:10 to go, and muscle his way inside for another basket with 13 seconds left for a 49-46 lead.

That gave Harrel a game-high 14 points on the night and proved to be the winning points.

Lavaca got off a desperation 3 attempt to tie that was put back for two just before the buzzer to set the final at 49-48, capping a wild fourth quarter.

Tayden Washburn scored twice within eight seconds in the first minute of the quarter to tie the game at 34-34, only the second time the Bearcats had been even – ironically the first was after a Tayden Washburn free throw with 1:11 to go in the third quarter.

Harrel’s 3 gave the Bearcats their first lead and a basket by Dakota Mattson made it 39-34 with 4:34 left.

It was 39-38 when Lavaca hit five of six free throws after three consecutive foul calls. The Arrows added another free throw with 1:59 left for a 44-39 lead.

A conventional three-point play by Jace Washburn (shown) just 12 seconds later made it 44-42 and Harrel’s second 3 of the quarter gave the Bearcats the lead back.

A steal before the Arrows got to midcourt led the lead growing to 47-44 on a basket by Mattson, giving him 10 points.

Lavaca got a pair of free throws with 46.8 seconds to go to make it 47-46 before Harrel bulled his way inside for a score with 13 seconds left.

After starting the game on a 9-0 run Lavaca had led through three quarters, with the exception of the tie at 30-30.

The Arrows and Bearcats hit four times each from 3-point land in the first quarter and it was 18-13 after one.

The Bearcats were down 26-17 with 3:34 to play before halftime but didn’t allow the Arrows to score again in the half and were able to cut the deficit to 26-21 on a basket by Wesley Fonseca just :04 before the half.

The Bearcats cut it to a single possession three times before a pair of free throws by Harrel and one by Tayden Washburn tied it at 30 in the third quarter.

The regular season came to a close on Saturday with a loss at Lamar. The Bearcats trailed by just one at the half but the Warriors took the game over late in the third quarter.

The loss put the Bearcats into a three-way tie for fifth in the District 3A-4 standings but they will be the 6 seed in the tournament and face 7th seeded Paris in a game that is scheduled for Tuesday at 6:50.